Now More Than Ever: The History of Chicago

I was happy for the forthrightness of all those who participated in this. Sad that Donnie Dacus, Bill Champlin, and Peter Cetera decided not to be part of it. I think their honest recollections and opinions would have been portrayed (the guys don't hold back on talking about reckless behavior and squabbles, and David Foster's ego is not tempered one bit). The best part was the proper due given to Chris Pinnick. I did not know his tenure lasted beyond the making of the 14th album. Great. But not a word - not one single word - about Laudir de Oliveira. He was a fulltime band member from '75 to '82, and even participated in the studio for a couple of years before attaining that status. Sad to say he passed away about six months ago, only the second Chicago member to be gone. I know there's only so much time in a documentary, and only so many things to be covered, but come on - he was a full-on band mate and should have his due.

1/9/18. A good rockumentary that looked at the evolution of the rock band with horns, Chicago. They came out with some memorable hits over the years that were somewhat highlighted in this movie. Mostly, it was the long-time members of the group reminiscing about the good ole days. I did detect a bit of envy on most of the members regarding Peter Cetera, who was a fantastic front man. But, as a group, they didn't want a front man. Too bad. Aside from this, this documentary was watchable and good.

This is a film made by the remaining members of the Chicago. The first half will thrill any Chicago fan, great live performances, the stories behind some iconic Chicago tunes, a wonderful tribute to Terry Kath, but as the movie progresses, the band felt the need to trash most former members. This is a shame because the music they made was special and while the remaining members put on a good live show, the music made since Danny, Peter and Bill left does not live up to the legacy they ALL created! I think it was very classy of Danny to be interviewed but Bill, Peter and JWC have all been conspicuously absent from the band recently and it says a LOT that they refused to participate in the film.

Like the band's musical legacy, the first half of the film is a solid 10, the second half, is a lackluster 2.

I wish someone would make a real documentary about this band. This so-called documentary, that originally ran on CNN, was directed and edited by Peter Pardini, whose uncle Lou Pardini has been a member of Chicago since 2009. Not exactly the independent journalistic standard I'd want from a documentary. It's difficult enough to trust documentaries when they're made by people who are independent from the documentary's subject, but a documentary by a band member's nephew is not a documentary. And they buried the fact that it was made by a band member's nephew. CNN should've known journalistic standards dictate that information be presented right up front in bold letters. Don't get me wrong, it was enjoyable, but it's not trustworthy.

This is a documentary I've been wanting to see for a while because I really like Chicago's music and this serves as a vehicle for a better understanding of the band's creative input and output. Evidently, it doesn't help to fully understand the ups and downs of the relationships between all band members because not every member was involved in the making of this documentary nor with testimony to aid the band's story. So, considering how conflictingly the band parted ways with whom was the voice and face of the band, Mr. Peter Cetera along with the producer who co-wrote with Cetera some of the band's most successful tunes, this doesn't give you the full scope, because there is one side missing.

I like Chicago's 70's songs and the latter music of their career as well, so I'm not divided as many of their fans are. In the beginning of the documentary, I felt they were telling the story of their beginnings a little fast; and since I didn't know how the members looked in real life, I had a bit of trouble remembering who was who and what instrument each of them played. One thing I didn't particularly liked is that they didn't even named Peter Cetera until they got to If You Leave Me Now, I think that they should have introduced each of the members at the beginning.

There is a heart-warming tribute to Terry Kath, who contributed enormously to the band's sound in the early days with his technical guitar playing. Troubles begin when the film reaches the part where Chicago's musical direction changed. Since in this era of the band, Cetera's musical input was massive, it's inevitable for him to take center stage in this story, but his refusal to appear in the documentary leaves many questions unanswered and leaves it without a key point of view to understand the story better. So that is the main flaw this documentary has, it's only one side of the story, but it's a decent side, it's enough to understand how the majority of the members felt during the different stages they went through as the years went by. But I can't take their truth when it comes to absent members unless we get both sides of the same coin.

To be honest, it's hard not to enjoy the documentary, even if you don't think that it comes across as sincere, because it deals with the music of one of the greatest bands of all time, Chicago.